Sara Errani is an Italian professional tennis player who was born on April 29, 1987, in Bologna, Italy. Born into humble beginnings, Sara started to show a passion and talent for tennis at an early age—so much so that her parents sent her to a tennis academy in Florida at the tender age of 12.
This accelerated her progress onto the ITF tour, meaning her destiny of a career as a professional tennis player was within reach. 2006 was a breakthrough year for the Italian, with her earning her debut at WTA level. It came in Bogota, Colombia, and she proved her worth at that level, beating Neha Uberoi in the first round.
This was not enough for Errani, who went on to reach her first quarterfinal at that season’s Budapest Open. It was only a matter of time before she was to start winning silverware at that level, and two came at once for Errani. First up was the 2008 Palermo Open, where she beat Mariya Koryttseva in the final, only to be followed up by the Portoroz Open in Slovenia the following week.
Following a change of racquet in 2012, she won five more singles tournaments at the start of the year as she immediately noticed an improvement in her game. 2012 was also the year she reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the semifinal at the US Open as well as the French Open final.
All the while, Errani’s doubles career knew no bounds, with her winning the women’s doubles at both the French Open and the US Open that same year, only to end the season as world number 1. Back on the singles side of things, the Italian really was going through a golden patch at this time in her career, reaching an all-time best for her world number 5 in 2013.
The following year she achieved something which most players can only dream of – the career Grand Slam. After claiming the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon in 2014, the Italian sealed her spot in the exclusive club.
Following more titles, all was about to come crashing down in 2017 when she failed a drug test, leaving her without accrued ranking points, prize money, and months of competition. By the early 2020s, she was ready for a long-awaited comeback, making appearances at the Slams.
It was not long before she regained her form, winning the 2024 Transylvania Open to claim her 9th WTA singles title. This number is dwarfed by her 29 in doubles. All in all, she will be considered one of the better players in the history of the women’s game.
